Athens International Airport saw a significant increase in number of travelers during March 2018 with a recorded 1.52 million passengers. That is a 10.4 percent increase compared to March 2017. According to AIA, domestic traffic dropped by 4.4 percent.

For the first three months of 2018, the international airport's traffic reached 4 million, surpassing previous years by 8 percent. The number of domestic travelers dropped again, while international travelers saw an increase of 15.9 percent.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice Awards recently named AEGEAN Airlines the Best Regional Airline in Europe for 2018! 

Last year was the first year TripAdvisor included an airline category for the Traveler's Choice Awards. AEGEAN was also listed as one of the best for the 2017 Traveler's Choice Awards. To continue the success this year, they honored 69 airlines that provide exceptional value and service across the world. Singapore Airlines was named number one in the world. 

The Traveler's Choice Awards for airlines recognize carriers who exceed passenger expectations and receive great reviews from travelers. The winners of the 2018 Traveler’s Choice Awards for Airlines were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of airline reviews and ratings submitted by travelers worldwide on TripAdvisor Flights from February 2017 to February 2018.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Please click HERE to view TripAdvisor's Top 10 Airlines in the World for 2018.

Travelers wishing to island hop through the Ionian islands this summer will be happy to learn a new ferry line connecting the islands will begin for the first time on May 1, 2018!

The Minister of Maritime Affairs announced the new route at the Regional Developmental Conference of the Ionian Islands. The High Speed Azimut Joy Cruises, which has a capacity of 260 passengers, will serve the new route. 

Every Monday Wednesday and Friday the boat will depart from Corfu and call at Paxos, Lefkada (at the port of Vasiliki), Ithaki (Pisaetos), Kefalonia (Sami) and finally Zakynthos. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the boat will follow the reverse of the above route, departing from Zakynthos.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

The high summer season has officially begun in Greece! The Greek Culture Ministry announced recently that state-run museums and archaeological sites will have extended operating hours, beginning April 1, 2018.

See below for the extended summer hours for some of the most popoular sites in Athens:


The Acropolis

April 1 – October 31, 2018
Monday: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Last admission: 3:30 p.m.)
Tuesday to Sunday: 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Last admission: 7:30 p.m.)
Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Last admission: 9:30 p.m.)

National Archaeological Museum

April 1 - May 31, 2018
Monday: 13:00 – 20:00
Tuesday – Friday: 08:00 - 20:00
Saturday – Sunday: 09:00 - 16:00

Theatre of Herodes Atticus

Daily 8:00 to 20:00

Ancient Cemetery of Kerameikos

Daily 8:00 to 19:00

Ancient Agora

Daily 8:00 to 15:00

Roman Agora

Monday through Friday - 8:00 to 15:00
Saturday and Sunday - 8:00 to 17:00

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Daily 8:00 to 19:30

Temple of Sounion

Daily 9:00 to sunset

Library of Hadrian

Daily 8:00 to 15:00

Theatre of Dionysus

Daily 8:00 to 19:30

For more information regarding operating hours of the archaeological sites, museums, and monuments, please visit: Culture.gr

Mid-season sales in Greece are here just in time for summer! Sales begin May 1 and will last until May 15, 2018.

Shops will be open on Sunday, May 6, from 11:00 to 20:00.

Greetings to all of our followers and friends in the community!

We wanted to raise awareness about a recent issue we've had in our Classified listings. Unfortunately, some people have fallen victim to a scam disguised as 'Puppies For Sale.' This incident has since been reported and handled accordingly. We want to let everyone know that: 

1. Any kind of animal for sale will no longer be allowed on XpatAthens. Although not all of these posts are scams, we have decided as an organization to support animal adoption. If you're looking for a puppy, dog, cat, or other please visit our list of animal adoption organizations in Athens.

2. Users who post inappropriate content (scams or other) will be blocked from posting on XpatAthens in the future.

As always, if you come across any suspicious content in our Classified or Event postings, please contact us at info@xpatathens.com so we can solve the issue as soon as possible.

At XpatAthens, we always strive for the best for our community. Our priority is to provide our readers with positive and quality content. We will stand by our efforts in making XpatAthens a safe place to receive news and other useful information within the international community in Greece.

Sincerely,

The Team at XpatAthens

An initiative developed by the City of Athens, called the Athens Open Schools program, is keeping 25 schools open after class for Greeks, refugees, and residents of all ages. The program, which has won acclaim by the Council of Europe, provides free recreation and development activities in order to revitalize the neighborhood with safe public spaces and opportunities for growth.

The free activities include studying space through a digital planetarium, football team training, lessons in beatboxing, and learning how to film your own documentary.

Athens Open Schools, which is based on an exclusive grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, forms part of a wider effort to leverage the support of the private sector for innovative initiatives that improve the quality of life in Athens.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter

Photo Credit: Greek Reporter

On May 18, 2018, Greece is celebrating International Museum Day with free admission to museums and a number of cultural events with the theme 'Hyperconnected Museums: New approaches, new publics.'

International Museum Day aims to raise awareness of museums and how they are a significant means of cultural exchange. This year’s theme focuses on the integral role of the internet in relation to museums around the world. On the occasion of International Museum Day 2018, the Greek branch of ICOM will honor the OTE Telecommunications Museum, which is operated by the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization OTE SA in Athens.

A special event will be held on May 18, at 19:00, at the OTE Teleocommunications Museum in Nea Kifissia. The event will include short speeches, guided tours and music performances. From May 17-20, the museum will also host guided tours, educational programs and workshops, and more.

For more information, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

For the first time in Greece, students at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens will be able to receive a four-year honors degree in Archaeology, History, and Literature of Ancient Greece that is taught entirely in English. This is the first undergraduate degree in Greece that is offered in English. 

The degree is being offered in association with the International Hellenic University in Thessaloniki, northern Greece. The course, which is targeted at international students, will cost €8,000 a year.

Eleni Karamalengou, the Dean of Athens’ School of Philosophy, described the new program as a “very important and innovative educational, scientific and cultural initiative for this country."

Source: Times Higher Education

TripAdvisor recently named Aegean Airlines 'Best Airline in Europe for 2018,' but it's their new 'Gastronomics' initiative that caught the eye of popular news source, Forbes. 

As part of the new initiative, the airline's wine consultant, Konstantinos Lazarakis, is teaming up with three notable Greek chefs, Lefteris Lazarou, Christoforos Peskias, and Stelios Parliaros, to create more than 40 dishes showcasing local flavors from Crete, Naxos, the Peloponnese, and more.

While Aegean Airlines have offered Greek flavors in-flight for years (since 2010, more than 450,000 bottles of wine from 85 Greek wineries and various local products from 50 Greek producers have been offered), it's the addition of the renowned chefs that will give Aegean some "serious Hellenic gastronomic muscle."

As Forbes states, "Lazarou was awarded a Michelin star for his gourmet restaurant Varoulko Seaside in Piraeus. Parliaros is Greece's leading pastry chef. Stepping into his Sweet Alchemy establishment in the Kolonaki neighborhood of Athens is a feast for the senses. Cypriot-born Peskias trained under Ferran Adrià and Mark Menaux. Lazarakis, for whom 'Greek wines, for at least a decade, are among the best of the planet' curates the onboard wine list."

To read this article in full, please visit: Forbes

 

Photo source: Wikipedia